California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the four research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.25.

A number of analysts have recently commented on CWT shares. TheStreet lowered California Water Service Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on California Water Service Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 2,220 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $111,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,873 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,650. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Water Service Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CWT. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in California Water Service Group by 35.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 175,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,325,000 after buying an additional 46,303 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in California Water Service Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 65,799 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,113,000 after buying an additional 3,174 shares during the last quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 29.2% in the third quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 9.1% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,980,000 after purchasing an additional 5,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 11.9% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 7,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

CWT stock opened at $50.57 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.47. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $58.30.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $270.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.85 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.40) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 44.80%.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. The company is involved in the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution, and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, as well as for fire protection services.